Stevan Novakovich launched his dance career at the age of six with the Yugoslavian national folk company and subsequently received his training at the Vag﻿anova-based Ballet Academy in Novi Sad. Upon arriving in the United States in 1993, he trained at the Ballet West Conservatory, Broadway Dance Center and Alvin Ailey School of American Dance. He has performed with Ballet West, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, New York City Opera, Alwin Nikolais Dance Theatre and Bill T. Jones Dance Company, to name but few.Mr. Novakovich has worked with several luminaries in the world of dance including choreographers Stephen Koester, Daniel Ezralow and Doug Varone. He has received numerous honors including the Performer of Great Merit Award, Olympiad Award Winner, Governor's Award and Honorary Achievement Award in Dance Performance.Through the U.S. State Department he had the privilege of serving as a cultural ambassador from the United States. During this period, he taught and performed in all four corners of the world. He has been a frequent guest instructor at various American universities (including Tisch School of the Arts) as well as academic institutions abroad. Mr. Novakovich has been and still continues to work as a guest teacher at numerous international dance festivals including the Open Look Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. Due to his versatility as a performer, Mr. Novakovich is well recognized for teaching master classes and workshops as well as setting the original choreography that range from classical & contemporary ballet, to modern dance and work for film.He earned a BFA in ballet from the University of Utah and an MFA in choreography and professional performance from the California State University, Long Beach.His present day focus is honing his teaching methods and aesthetic philosophies and producing his own choreographic body of works. He is also working on developing academic curriculum that is based on contemplative studies, which emphasize intuitive learning process and socio-emotional intelligences. Stevan Novakovich is a twenty-first century choreographer. He is acknowledged and admired for his eclectic choreographic palette, inventive approach, unique interpretations, and mastery of traditions that underlie his work. Combining high technical prowess, curiosity and attention to details with a distinctive contemporary/modern movement style, Novakovich's inventions are infused with both intense complexity and mesmerizing simplicity. Even as his choreographic styles shift from Neoclassical to Surreal, this artist chooses to transcend the boundaries of Modernism, and his work remains individual and distinctive.Subjected to the misfortunes of the war in his home country of Yugoslavia, Novakovich immigrated to United States in young adulthood. Here he continues to explore the core essence of human experience at large and its freedoms and constraints in particular. Maintaining his conviction that art should be accessible and communicative, Novakovich produces works of dance that speak to and engage a variety of audiences.While staying true to his own artistic vision, Novakovich implements artistic styles of the past while welcoming new challenges and tests of time. His deep belief in his artistic goals and free expression allows him to integrate his own limitations into his choreographic exploration, keeping his work truly authentic.Self-produced and commissioned works by Stevan Novakovich range in style from classical ballet and minimalist movement, all the way to contemporary modern, Butoh, site specific, dance for camera, installation, and avant-garde. This unique, eclectic adapt﻿ability and versatility makes him readily available for variaty of projects and commissions. For many years now, Stevan has been involved in international educational projects involving children and youth. Being committed to humanity's exposure to the arts, and its humanitarian and diplomatic potential, this artist welcomes projects and commissions that facilitate widespread cultural exchange. ﻿As a free-lance artist, Stevan welcomes new creative opportunities.